Roommates at the Leaky Cauldron
by Joy in the Stars
Summary: An accidental visit to Knockturn Alley leads to bit of an adventure and the start of a possible romance for Neville. It's just a cute and short Neville/Justin story, focusing on a young Neville's insecurities and mixed up feelings. Warning: SLASH.


"Oomph!"

The air escaped from Neville's lungs as he tumbled head over heals out of the fireplace.

"Ouch!" He rubbed his head, which had hit the edge of a low table, and stood up carefully, surprised that he was still in one piece... though covered from head to toe in soot.

"Young man," a chilling voice said from behind him, "what do you mean by this?"

Neville whirled around and froze in horror as he came face to face with a man whose sunken eyes and sallow, sagging skin reminded him of a corpse.

"I--I'm--" he stuttered, taking a step back. He collided with a table, and to his horror he turned and saw that upon it stood a dozen small dishes filled with what appeared to be human eyeballs. The milky pupils stared up at him accusingly.

Neville ran.

He didn't even know how he found the door, but he stumbled out of the store and into the alley outside, thinking only of escaping.

He nearly ran into a black-cloaked figure, and his blood ran cold when he looked up and his own hazel eyes locked with a pair of glowing red ones. He twisted away, running in the opposite direction.

Someone tried to grab him. Neville ran faster.

Once he fell on the cobblestones and skinned his knees. A witch sitting on a stoop laughed mockingly as he limped away.

His legs ached and his knees hurt and his lungs cramped, but he kept running until he could run no longer and collapsed on the steps of a bookstore, trying to catch his breath.

He tried to ignore the many eyes that stared at him.

A horrible realization had hit him as he ran, and he shuddered with fear as he looked around him.

He was in Knockturn Alley, not Diagon Alley where the floo powder was supposed to have taken him. How it happened, he couldn't even guess.

Except... he had choked on the smoke just as he was supposed to say where he wanted to go.

Neville whimpered, trying to keep back the tears. Now what was he going to do? How would he ever get out of this horrible place?

Worst of all were the shadows creeping in around him, reminding him that the sun was setting, even though he couldn't actually see the sun, or much of the sky for that matter, from where he sat.

"Neville Longbottom!"

The shrill voice startled Neville almost out of his skin. He whipped around.

"Prof--Professor Sinistra?" he asked in disbelief.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Longbottom?" the witch demanded.

"I--I got lost. I--"

"Hmph! Well, come along, you can't stay here by yourself," she said. "I would not have noticed you at all, if Mr. Finch-Fletchley had not recognized you. Quite lucky," she finished, shaking her head sternly at Neville.

Once Neville stood up she turned to go down a narrow alley behind the store.

"Justin?" Neville said in surprise as he finally spotted the boy who had been hidden behind the professor.

"Hullo Neville," the boy said sheepishly.

"Why are you here with Professor Sinistra?"

"My parents are Muggles, you know," he explained. "I needed to get some things, so..." He shrugged.

"Oh."

They had come through an arched doorway, and Neville breathed a sigh of relief. They were in Diagon Alley. They were safe.

"Now then," Sinistra turned to him. "Whom are you here with, and where are they?"

"I don't know," Neville said helplessly. "My Gran arranged for me to meet someone at the cauldron shop. I don't know whom."

She stared at him for a moment.

"I will have to contact your grandmother," she said finally. "We will get this sorted out."

A few minutes later a miserable Neville was explaining to his Gran how he had landed in Knockturn Alley. She was predictably horrified and angry.

"There is still the matter of where Neville will stay until the train leaves," Sinistra put in when Neville's grandmother ran out of breath to scold him.

"He will have to get a room. I can't come for him tonight."

Sinistra scratched her chin thoughtfully.

"I have charge of another student, perhaps the two can board together."

Neville and Justin exchanged a look, each one scrutinizing the other. It didn't appear that they would be given a choice in the matter.

Less than an hour later they were ushered into a small room above the Leaky Cauldron.

"I suggest you get some rest," Sinistra told them. "I will come for you at dawn and we will buy your supplies. You will be on your own after that."

"It could be worse," Justin said when she left them. He sat down on the edge of his bed and bounced up and down a few times. "I thought I might have to room with her."

Neville sat down on the other bed.

"I'm sorry you got stuck with me."

"Oh, that's alright," Justin said good-naturedly. "I don't mind."

They sat in silence for a while, and it seemed to Neville that they were both avoiding looking at each other.

"Hey," Justin exclaimed suddenly, "you're bleeding!"

Neville looked where Justin was pointing, and saw that the scrapes on his knees were still oozing blood. Furthermore, the bottom of his robes was ripped, and two buttons were missing.

"I know. I'm a mess. I guess I'll go clean up." He got up and limped into the bathroom.

He didn't see Justin following him until he glanced into the mirror and saw him behind him.

"Isn't there some spell you can use on your robes?"

Neville thought for a moment. He was sure that he remembered learning one.

"I guess there must be, but I can't remember it. Besides, I would probably make my robes catch on fire or disappear altogether."

Justin laughed. "Then I guess you better leave them like they are." Then he cocked his head to one side thoughtfully. "I know the spell to heal small wounds. I can do it for you, if you're afraid you'll botch it somehow."

"Thanks..." Neville said reluctantly. He thought it would be rude to decline the offer.

"Sure," Justin said, taking out his wand. "Now... hold still."

There was a small burst of cold air against Neville's skin.

"It worked!" Neville said with some surprise. "Thanks!"

"I told you I could do it," Justin said, grinning and looking decidedly relieved.

Neville waited until Justin had gone back into the other room before he sat down on the edge of the bathtub and began to scrub the dried blood off his legs and the hem of his robes.

He shook his head unhappily when he looked himself over in the mirror. His Gran would be sending his trunk directly to the station, so he didn't even have a comb with him. He sorely needed one. His hair was a tangled mess, with soot still clinging to it. He smoothed it down as best he could with his fingers.

His robes were dirty as well as torn, but there was nothing he could do about that, as he was wearing only an undershirt and y-fronts underneath.

"Are you done yet?" Justin yelled from the other room.

"Yes," Neville said as he opened the door. "Do you need--"

"Come on," Justin interrupted, "it's getting dark so lets not waste any more time."

"Where are we going?" Neville asked in confusion.

Justin raised an eyebrow. "Out, of course. Do you want to sit in this room all evening?"

"Oh... uh... no, of course not," Neville lied. "Lets go."

With Justin leading the way, the two left their room and made their way down a narrow flight of stairs and out the back door.

Neville had never seen Diagon Alley so late in the evening. The shop windows glowed with eerie light, illuminating the wares displayed within. The sky overhead was cloudy and darkening rapidly, the first stars already faintly visible.

Shivering slightly, Neville quickened his pace to catch up with Justin, who was moving quickly along, as though sure of his purpose.

"Where are we going?"

Justin jiggled some coins in his pocket. "I have a real craving for ice-cream, I do." He tossed his head. "After having only Muggle ice-cream all summer, I want some that tastes proper."

Neville hadn't been aware that Muggle ice-cream was any different from wizard ice-cream; he had never tasted any. He took Justin's word for it.

Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor was just ahead, and the two boys were the only customers. They took their time looking over the flavors.

"Melon marmalade? Strawberry? Liver? No... How about chocolate cheese?"

Neville shrugged. "I would have strawberry, but I don't have any money, so I suppose it doesn't matter."

"My treat," Justin said, motioning the clerk over. "Two cones, please. One strawberry and one melon marmalade."

Instead of sitting down at one of the tables, Justin walked out of the parlor. Trying to hold on to his dripping cone, Neville followed him.

"Look!" Justin pointed at something ahead of them.

"What?" Neville asked, not seeing anything.

"The new brooms are in. Aren't they something?"

Neville, who didn't care much for Quidditch or flying, wasn't very impressed. He stood aside, licking his ice-cream, while Justin walked back and forth in front of the display.

Finally turning away from the shop window, Justin glanced around.

"Don't have time to visit Gambol & Japes tonight. It's in the wrong direction. Too bad." He looked disappointed.

"Maybe tomorrow," Neville said, but secretly he was hoping this meant they would return to their room before darkness overtook them.

But something else had already caught Justin's attention.

"Look!" he said, pointing at the next shop over.

Neville looked. It was the Magical Menagerie, and in a large cage on the sidewalk in front of it there was a large red bird.

"That's a phoenix, isn't it?" Neville asked. "Only it doesn't look like the ones we have in England."

"Nah," Justin said, "this one's from Asia. Look at his tail!"

Wearily, Neville followed him over to the store, conscious of the shadows deepening around them.

At long last, Justin seemed satisfied, and they started back.

"I know a shortcut," Justin said as they were passing the ice-cream parlor. "Come on!"

Neville gaped after him as Justin ducked into a narrow passage between shops and quickly vanished into the darkness.

"Is that a good idea?" he called after him, but there was no reply.

Sighing and gritting his teeth, Neville followed.

After a minute, he still hadn't caught up with Justin, and his anxiety was getting the better of him.

"Justin?" he called softly, fearing the sound of his own voice echoing through the alleyway. "Where are you?"

Suddenly a hand grabbed his arm, and Neville jumped nearly three feet in the air.

"Justin!" he panted. "You scared me!"

"Sorry," Justin grinned. "Now hurry up. If they lock the back door on us, we'll have to go through the dining room. Someone would be sure to tell Sinistra we were out."

Neville shuddered at the thought of getting into trouble before the school year even began. He walked faster, stumbling in the darkness over the uneven ground.

"There, I told you it was quicker this way," Justin said. "Here's the door."

Neville breathed a sigh of relief. They had made it.

Justin grabbed and twisted the door handle, still grinning at Neville. Then his face fell.

"Uh oh."

"What's wrong?" Neville asked, though he had a pretty good idea.

"It's locked," Justin said, turning and giving the door a kick with his boot. "They locked it!"

They exchanged a helpless look.

"Now what?" Neville asked, biting his lower lip. "Do we go through the front?"

"No! I'm not getting in trouble for this." Justin looked around in desperation. "There! Look!" He pointed straight up.

Neville craned his neck. The only thing he could see was a ledge running under the second floor windows. A very narrow ledge.

He shook his head in confusion. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"That ledge," Justin told him, confirming his worst fears, "runs all the way around the building. That means it will take us right to our own window."

"But... but..." Neville stammered, then drew in a deep breath and demanded, "Are you crazy?"

"It's simple," Justin said, waving him off, "we just climb on top of this--" he pointed at the arch over the doorway, "and from there it's only a little jump--"

"You are crazy!" Neville exclaimed.

"No, really, we can do this!" Justin insisted, already moving around Neville and trying to find a hand-hold on the wall. "Look at these bricks, they all protrude like little stairs."

Neville watched incredulously as Justin scrambled up the wall.

"See? Easy!" he said once he was balanced precariously at the top of the arch. "Climb up, and I'll give you a hand."

Neville couldn't believe he was even considering it. But he found himself grunting and huffing as he clung to the bricks and tried to pull himself up.

"Here." Justin bent down and offered him a hand. "Hang on."

Neville managed to grab his hand, and with his help he made it to the top.

Justin was already eying the ledge. Neville, too, measured the distance with his eyes, and groaned. It was a leap of at least four feet, and the ledge was so narrow that they risked missing it altogether.

"I don't think we're going to make it," Neville said, trying to keep his balance as Justin took a step forward, pulling him along.

"Sure we will," Justin scoffed. "We're wizards aren't we? It's nothing!"

But Neville could see the beads of sweat standing out on his forehead.

"We can still go back, Justin. Maybe we won't get into trouble--"

"No!" Justin said resolutely, dropping Neville's hand and stepping even closer to the edge.

Neville watched as Justin, seemingly in slow motion, sailed over the gap, landing hard on his hands and knees on the ledge.

"Are you alright?" Neville called anxiously.

Justin got up slowly, wiping his hands on his trousers. "Sure. I'm fine," he said. Then he grinned in triumph. "See, I told you!"

Neville gulped. He looked at the ledge and at Justin beckoning him to follow, and then down to the ground, which seemed so much safer. Maybe he could still...

"Come on Neville, you can do it!" Justin pleaded impatiently. "Come on! Just jump. It isn't that far."

Neville took one last look at the long, horrifying gap that he was expected to leap over. His knees turned to jelly quicker than the time he had been hit with jelly-legs. But he swallowed his panic and stepped up to the edge, willing himself not to look down. His heart beat like a drum in his chest.

"Come on," Justin said again, holding out a hand.

Neville jumped.

His right foot made it.

His left did not.

For a long moment he hung in the air, flailing his arms, his foot trying desperately to find the ledge. Instead, a brick crumbled away, falling and hitting the ground with an ugly thud.

"Got you!"

Justin had grabbed him by the belt, and pulled him roughly onto the ledge.

"What is going on out here?" an angry voice cried from below.

The two boys froze, pressing their backs against the wall.

The door had opened, and one of the waitresses had stuck her head out. "Damn cats!" she muttered when she saw that the alleyway was empty.

The door banged shut.

Justin peeled his palm off Neville's mouth.

"That was close," he said, laughing nervously.

Neville was still trembling far too much to be able to answer. Being discovered by the witch was hardly the worst that he imagined could have happened to him.

Justin had turned away, and was creeping along the ledge, his arms splayed over the wall.

Neville took a deep breath, trying to stop his shaking. All he wanted now was to make it safely to their room.

The ledge kept getting narrower, and in some places bricks were missing. Neville kept expecting it to crumble beneath his weight and send him crashing down to the ground. Finally, they were forced to get on their hands and knees and crawl.

"Do you know which window is ours?" Neville asked when they paused for breath. It seemed to him that they had passed half a dozen windows already.

"I think so," Justin nodded. "There're eight rooms, right? We have the one at the end, so that means it's the last one before the big window that's at the end of the hallway."

They crawled onward, arms and knees aching.

"There it is," Justin finally said.

Neville looked past him and saw that there was, indeed, one window left before the large, brightly-lit one that was unlike any of the rest.

"What if the window is locked?" he said suddenly, panic rising.

"Don't say that!" Justin growled. He seemed to crawl faster.

They reached the window, and Justin stood up shakily to try the handle.

"It's open," he said.

Neville almost cried with relief.

They scrambled over the windowsill, and Justin banged the window shut. Then they collapsed on their beds, out of breath and laughing shakily.

"Brilliant!" Justin said, his head rolling over to look at Neville when they were finally able to calm down. "Bloody brilliant!"

Neville pulled himself up into a sitting position, his muscles protesting painfully. He began to take off his boots. He just wanted to crawl into bed.

Justin began to pull himself up as well, but thought better of it. He propped himself up on his elbow and watched Neville.

"Come on, Neville, wasn't that fun?" he asked beseechingly.

"Sure," Neville said. "I guess."

"This will make a brilliant story to tell when we get to school."

Neville smiled weakly. It would be rather fun to show his fellow Gryffindors that his life was not as boring as they thought. He always felt left out when the others recounted their summer adventures.

"I suppose it will be," he said. "Impress all the girls, right?" He looked down at the coverlet, hoping that Justin didn't see him blush. He thought Justin would be the type to embellish the tale to impress a girl he fancied.

"Girls! Ugh. Don't like them." Justin made a face and stretched out on the bed. He turned his head toward Neville and grinned. "How about you? You and Ginny Weasley?"

Neville was frozen in shock with his mouth hanging open. "Uh... No. I don't like... girls... either," he mumbled, barely managing to get the words out.

"Really?" Justin's eyes widened and he sat up abruptly. "I didn't think there was anyone else at Hogwarts. Too bad I didn't know until now."

Neville wasn't sure what to say to that, and kept quiet. His brain was still trying to process what was happening.

"Say!" Justin jumped up from the bed, snapping his fingers. "You know what? You and I should go to that dance -- you know -- the one we aren't supposed to know about. I certainly don't want to sit it out." He plopped down next to Neville and flung an arm over his shoulder. "This is perfect!"

Neville stared at him in horror, wishing he had never said anything, and not thinking it was perfect at all.

Justin didn't seem to notice. He was already making plans, not pausing to get Neville's input.

"... and do you know what Terry said when I told him -- Neville?"

"Huh?" Neville snapped to attention, realizing Justin was staring quizzically at him.

"Never mind," Justin shook his head. He continued to look at Neville intently. "People do know... about you, right?" he asked.

"Sure," Neville shrugged, "everyone in my House."

"And your fam--" Justin caught himself, "-- your grandmother?"

Neville shrugged again. He didn't think his Gran would care if she found out.

"Right, then," Justin said cheerfully. "We're all set."

"Yeah," Neville said without much enthusiasm. "All set."

Justin bounced off the bed. "I'm going to take a shower," he announced.

Neville was left sitting alone on his bed.

His mind whirled dizzily. How had he gotten himself into this? He didn't want to go to any dance! He would just make a fool of himself. He had been looking forward to a quiet evening alone in the dormitory, away from all the noise and arguments and practical jokes.

So much for that. Now he would be dragged to the dance with Justin.

Justin, who was just a little too outgoing, just a little too loud and enthusiastic about everything. Who liked excitement, and who thought dangling from a narrow ledge two floors from the ground was brilliant fun. They couldn't possibly be less alike.

Justin came out of the bathroom. Seeing Neville, he frowned.

"Why are you sitting in the dark?"

Neville blinked, coming back to reality. He hadn't noticed that the room had grown pitch black.

Justin lit a candle on the bed stand between the beds. "That's better."

Because Justin appeared to be getting ready to sit down next to him again, Neville jumped up. "I think I'll take a shower also," he said, escaping into the bathroom.

The warm water calmed him. He began to think that maybe he had overreacted to everything that had happened that night. Chances were, Justin would forget all about the dance by the time they arrived at school. And the incident on the ledge was Neville's own fault, he should have known his own limitations and not done something crazy under a wee bit of peer pressure.

He wiped the steam from the window and peered at his reflection.

"I'm having an adventure," he told himself softly, "just like all normal boys do over summer holidays."

He set his mouth resolutely, and forced a smile. He would enjoy Diagon Alley while he was there. If he was certain of anything, it was that he was having a better time than he ever did with his Gran.

Still, as he opened the bathroom door, he couldn't help hoping that Justin had gone to bed.

"You took long enough!" Justin said as Neville came out. He was sitting cross-legged on Neville's bed, clad only in pajamas bottoms.

Neville froze in the doorway.

"I was thinking," Justin continued, not noticing the expression on Neville's face, "that we -- well, come on Neville, don't just stand there -- that we need to buy new dress robes. I saw yours last year, and I must tell you, they're hideous. Mine aren't much better. I've had them since fourth year and they're too small now."

Neville sank down on the edge of the bed.

"Aren't you cold?" Justin asked, noticing his goose-pimpled arms.

"Yes," Neville said, shivering and raising his freezing feet off the stone floor.

Justin pulled back the covers for him. "Then get in, for Merlin's sake."

Neville shrugged off his robes and pulled the covers up to his chin.

"Right," Justin went on, "where was I?"

"Robes," Neville reminded him wearily.

Robes, that's right," Justin said brightly. "Maybe blue?"

A squeak escaped Neville's throat.

"No, no... not blue," Justin corrected himself. "Brown?"

Neville nodded helplessly.

"Good. Brown will go with your eyes..." Suddenly Justin was overcome with a big yawn.

"Maybe we should go to sleep?" Neville suggested. "Professor Sinistra said she would come for us early."

"No," Justin said through another yawn, "we have to plan what we're going to buy. You know how the clerks are at Madam Malkin's. If you don't know what you want, they can make you buy just about anything."

"Brown sounds good... really," Neville said, hoping to settle the matter quickly.

Justin got up, and Neville almost breathed a sigh of relief, before realizing that Justin was climbing under the covers with him. His eyes grew wide.

Their arms brushed under the blanket, and Neville pulled back quickly, his heart hammering in his chest.

"Why do you think they're trying to keep this dance such a secret?" Justin asked. "Not that anything at Hogwarts is ever a secret. The whole school must know about it by now."

Neville made a non-committal noise. He waited for Justin to go on, but the other boy had grown quiet.

Neville turned his head slightly to look at him and found Justin staring right back at him. He felt color rushing to his face.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing... just thinking."

Neville turned away and stared at the ceiling, but he couldn't ignore Justin's eyes on him. He sighed, turning back.

"Thinking about what?"

"Us," Justin said, flashing a quick smile.

"Us--what about us?" Neville sputtered. "You mean the dance?"

"No, I mean..." Justin propped himself up on his elbow, staring down at Neville. "The dance is two months away. We should do something before then."

"Do what?" Neville asked cautiously, resisting the urge to scoot further back toward the edge of the bed.

"I don't know," Justin said, dropping back down onto the pillow. "But something."

Neville's mind whirled over all the 'somethings' that Justin might want to do. Not all of them sounded bad, just as long as no one found out. More than anything, Neville did not want his relationship to be gossiped about.

"I know!" Justin exclaimed, startling Neville. "We can go to Hogsmeade. I bet there are many places there for a date."

"Date..." Neville repeated helplessly, too busy processing the idea to even notice that Justin had linked their arms and was holding his hand.

"Yeah..." Justin stifled another yawn. "We'll have great fun."

He didn't say anything more, and Neville lay stiffly and silently, waiting for whatever would happen next.

Nothing did.

He glanced over at Justin, and found that he had fallen asleep, his curly hair framing his head like a halo. He still had a small smile curving his lips.

Neville stared at him for a long time.

Maybe it wasn't so bad after all, he decided. Hadn't he hoped many times that there was someone out there for him? Now that someone wanted him, why should he shirk away?

He shook his head, thinking about the gossip and the stares that they would likely endure. Someone like Justin would hardly notice, but it couldn't fail to be torture for Neville. Was it worth it?

He didn't know. Maybe he couldn't know. Not when everything was so new and unfamiliar to him.

He yawned, exhaustion catching up with him.

Maybe things would seem clearer in the morning.

Gently, so as not to wake him, Neville pushed Justin's arm off his own. Justin mumbled something incoherent and turned towards the wall.

He took one last look at the sleeping boy beside him before blowing out the candle and lowering his head to his pillow.


End file.
